Inspections across Kosovo revealed widespread failures by hydropower operators to respect minimum ecological river flows. The Ministry introduced mandatory flow-monitoring equipment, stricter ecological flow rules, and the power to suspend water-use rights.

In April 2026, the Kosovo Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning introduced stronger requirements for hydropower operators. Here is what that means. 

EcoZ, together with the NGOs Pishtarët, GAIA Kosovo, and Riverwatch, submitted a complaint to the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna/Austria against Kosovo regarding the hydropower plants in Sharr National Park. 

Activists from the NGO EcoZ and citizens from the region organised an unusual action on the mountain slope of Kosovo´s Sharr National Park. With this visual action, the activists aim to draw attention to four dams illegally built within the national park and raise awareness not only in Kosovo but across Europe and the world. We demand the removal of the dams within the Sharr National Park.

This rapid field assessments conducted in Autum 2023 in the National Park Sharr Mountain encompassed an extensive evaluation of fish and macroinvertebrates, with a specific focus on aquatic insects, in the Lepenc River and its tributaries.

Save the Blue Heart has has established a new partnership with an organization in Kosovo, Gaia Kosovo! In August, an activist gathering took place in Strpce, within the Sharr Mountains National Park. Residents, local government representatives, citizen associations, NGOs, the National Park "Sharr Mountain," lawyers, and

We are pleased to invite you to the 1st Kosovo River Summit on October 15th, 2022 in Pristina, Kosovo. The rivers of Kosovo at risk. If we don’t act, a dam tsunami will destroy this heritage and Kosovo will soon be without rivers, affecting people and the biodiversity. This River Summit brings together activists, NGOs, legal experts and representatives from the Kosovo government.

Last week, Kosovo's Supreme Court ruled that three KELKOS hydropower plants near the village of Deçan must be shut down pending a final court decision. Moreover, KELAG withdraws complaint against two activists.

The Austrian Kelag likes to present itself as a modern company with the highest environmental and social standards. However, reality paints a quite different picture: the Kelag is a problematic company in the Balkans. For years, environmental organizations and local residents have been protesting against its hydropower projects and the behavior of its employees, especially in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.